What snipe services do you use?

[Vintagedeputy]

I tried one of these last night for the first time....auction stealer is the name. The bidding was done with 10-20 seconds left in the auction and I lost out on the bat by $2.50 :(

What snipe service is the best in your opinion?

[earlywynnfan]

I don't use any, as I find sniping to be gutless.

I fully expect to be beat up on this one!

Ken

[otismalibu]

I don't use any, as I find sniping to be gutless.

Unless you're trying to kill a Buy It Now, I don't have any clue why people bid early.

Why give your competition days to convince themselves to go higher, when you can give them no time at all? Not to mention bid stalkers.

In fact, if I see early bidding or a bunch of nibblers, I just wait for the next one. Some people must think there is a consolation prize for most time spent in the lead. But one can spend their money as they please.

As long as eBay doesn't adopt some sort of 10 minute rule, sniping is the way to go...IMO.

[TNTtoys]

I find that the best snipe service is the one you can provide from behind your own keyboard, high speed internet and with under 5 seconds to go... I wouldn't entrust a third party service to bid on my behalf, nor would I take the decision making process out of my own hands.

I agree with previous posts regarding the purpose of bidding early -- you do want to kill the buy-it-now if at all possible...but I can come up with 2 othwer good reasons why early bidding is a good thing --
1- You don't know if the seller is being hit with questions about ending their item early. When items have bids on them already, sellers would be less inclined to end early. I have lost out on many good items in my time by sellers deciding "the item is no longer for sale"
2- Another tactic of mine is to bid a few times early in order to show others I am serious about the item. These are not necessarily high bids, but they could be the deterrant for the other bidders. For example, if there is a jersey out there with a $99.00 starting bid, I will place 2 bids down on it. The unknowing other bidder will see that I have padded my bid at some later time and that I must be serious.

Bidding and bidding just to be on top is one of the biggest novice mistakes... it is very easy to see this way of buying as a game... but that novelty wears off very quickly when people learn that they are paying much more than they can be paying had they knew of better strategies. Course with that said, this doesn't necessarily mean that the item is one to avoid in the end. Sometimes, two novices play "top this" with one another and then stop before the item gets to its true value. Bottom line, know what you want to pay at the start, and then bow out if and when the price hits that number... not anytime before in thinking that it might.

[otismalibu]

Good points. I'm sure some sellers get pretty nervous when there are no bids after a few days. And I suppose that nervousness might make them ripe for a side deal...not that I've ever done that ;)



I don't know why people get upset about sniping.

If they lose, it simply means someone was willing to pay more.

But perhaps they're mad that they didn't bid more and didn't have time to bid more, after losing the lead. Which is the whole point of sniping :)

[Vintagedeputy]

I usually use the old "do it yourself" method but wanted to try a snipe service as I've heard alot about them. That's probably the first and last time I'll use one.

[Yankwood]

I once auctioned off a very early Wade Boggs game used bat and had a very prominent bat dealer send me a nasty note chastising me for auctioning the bat rather than selling it directly to him. Apparently his sniping service "misfired" and he was not the high bidder. After he informed me of this, I decided two things.

1. Never do business with him again, and
2. Do my own "sniping".

If I want something badly enough, I just overpay with about 10 seconds left. If I get beat on it chances are it was way higher than I wanted to spend anyway.

[indyred]

Snipe or no snipe, dosen't matter. High bidder wins. It is smart to use a sniper service on some things. Although, I've never used one....But if I really want something bad, best way is to be there and online and bid it yourself. But there is always the chance the snipe dosen't go off or your sitting at home and all of a sudden your internet goes out and you can't bid yourself. That is one reason why people may put a high bid in early, just don't want to take any chances with a snafu happening, where you are unable to bid at the end or don't trust snipe services. I know there are things i'm watching and i forget to bid and i see how low the item went and I'm mad i didn't atleast toss out a little bid early instead of waiting. It's kinda the beauty of ebay, you got all types there........Sometimes I'll just place an opening bid, forget all about it then get a winner notice and can't believe what a steal i got....

[trsent]

For those against sinpe services because you would rather do it yourself - Congratulations on all the free time you have and I'm sure you never forget to bid with 10 seconds left because you are always by the computer.

For the real world that forgets about items they are interested, would forget to bid all the time late, or always bid early and high and get beat out, I have adopted Bidnapper as my service. (www.bidnapper.com (http://www.bidnapper.com))

Bids perfectly with 5 seconds left on the clock every time.

Sure, I lose items, sure my snipes are way to low, but it has worked great for the first month I have used it. It also helps make sure I remember to bid when I get tied up with something else in my life.

[Yankwood]

For those against sinpe services because you would rather do it yourself - Congratulations on all the free time you have and I'm sure you never forget to bid with 10 seconds left because you are always by the computer.

For the real world that forgets about items they are interested, would forget to bid all the time late, or always bid early and high and get beat out, I have adopted Bidnapper as my service. (www.bidnapper.com (http://www.bidnapper.com))

Bids perfectly with 5 seconds left on the clock every time.

Sure, I lose items, sure my snipes are way to low, but it has worked great for the first month I have used it. It also helps make sure I remember to bid when I get tied up with something else in my life.Two issues here. First, you sound very resentful of people who have spare time. Second, you have accurately portrayed me as a rather pathetic individual. I'm so ashamed. Seriously though, how is it that I have heard on more than a few occasions about how this system didn't work? Are there "good ones" and "bad ones"?

[earlywynnfan]

is joel capable of posting without harshnes or sarcasm?

does it get old to anyone else?

ken

[Yankwood]

is joel capable of posting without harshnes or sarcasm?

does it get old to anyone else?

kenI just think he wants it known that his life is much more "eventful" than others less fortunate.

[trsent]

Two issues here. First, you sound very resentful of people who have spare time. Second, you have accurately portrayed me as a rather pathetic individual. I'm so ashamed. Seriously though, how is it that I have heard on more than a few occasions about how this system didn't work? Are there "good ones" and "bad ones"?

I have no idea what you are talking about. Could you post this again in a way I can understand what you are asking.

[trsent]

is joel capable of posting without harshnes or sarcasm?

does it get old to anyone else?

ken

Ken, put me on your delete list if you have a problem with my posting style. You do not then have to read my posts anymore.

I was making a point because someone asked what eBay snipe services people recommend. Instead of people telling him which they use, people lectured how they like to sit at home and bid themselves.

Was I harsh or sarcastic? I was stating facts to help answer someones genuine question that no one answered except with how they don't like snipe services.

Ken, I have nothing but respect for you, but if you are going to get personal with me and my style - PUT ME ON YOUR IGNORE LIST. It is that simple, otherwise, don't insult me unless you are a man and do it to me personally. My email is at the bottom of each page if you wish to reach me.

Got it?

[LHG39]

Another tactic of mine is to bid a few times early in order to show others I am serious about the item. These are not necessarily high bids, but they could be the deterrant for the other bidders. For example, if there is a jersey out there with a $99.00 starting bid, I will place 2 bids down on it. The unknowing other bidder will see that I have padded my bid at some later time and that I must be serious.



The downside to the 2 bid strategy is that eBay will show exactly where a new bidder stands in relation to your 2 bids. If the second bidder wants to find out how high you are willing to go he can continue to place bids until between your first and second bid without any concern about actually becoming the high bidder. As a result, they can force you to pay more without taking any risk.

[LHG39]

I don't use any, as I find sniping to be gutless.

I fully expect to be beat up on this one!

Ken


Call it what you will, but as others have said, until eBay changes their rules and makes their auctions like MLB.com and others by automatically extending auctions, sniping is the only smart way to go. I cannot tell you how many items I have lost to snipes, but I have won just as many. The less time you give someone to consider whether to bid higher, the better.

[trsent]

I just think he wants it known that his life is much more "eventful" than others less fortunate.

Get over it, I was not picking on anyone. I was replying to a thread that the original question was never answered. The guy was looking for a snipe service, he didn't ask if you like to wait until the last second to bid yourself.

[TNTtoys]

The downside to the 2 bid strategy is that eBay will show exactly where a new bidder stands in relation to your 2 bids. If the second bidder wants to find out how high you are willing to go he can continue to place bids until between your first and second bid without any concern about actually becoming the high bidder. As a result, they can force you to pay more without taking any risk.

Most of the time I play the 2-bid strategy, it's just a bluff to make the novice think I am serious, when in fact I'm not. My bids are often so close together that the only way the bidder can find out how high I am willing to go, they become the high bidder themselves (unless they play the standard increment) -- my experience is that this just doesn't happen. If the bidder is inexperienced, and they don't become high bidder for $100, they will not try $102.50 -- they will try something more like $120 ior $125. If this is a more experienced buyer, they will not want to play the standard increment because this could possibly take MANY bids to find out the 2nd bid -- these bids mount (you're familiar with highlighted items, right?), and so does the price (if you're experienced, you don't want to be the one to drive the price up way before it ends).

[Vintagedeputy]

Wow, there was some thread-jacking going on there. I'm not even sure what my original question was anymore!

[TNTtoys]

Wow, there was some thread-jacking going on there. I'm not even sure what my original question was anymore!

Guilty as charged!